Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Howitzer BB Problem (possibly solved) input needed

3K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  NorKal 
#1 · (Edited)
My Holzfeller DH cranks fall off my BB after maybe 1 hour of riding or 1-2 hard DH runs.
Originally I assumed that I was installing the BB wrong. I tried it with one 2.5mm on the drive side like shown in the directions. Then I tried with no spacers, still the problem continued. I was looking at the directions today, specifically the different crankstop seals on different sized BB's. It looks like my 83mm BB has 100mm BB crankstop seals on it...They are huge. I am wondering if truvativ put on the wrong sized integrated crankstop/seal. The ones on there look huge, they are 4-5mm long. Where as the ones on the 68/73mm BB are like 1mm... I'll get a picture to show in like 5 minutes.

EDIT: I just noticed another thing...it has a 68/73mm spindle cover on it(the plastic tube inside the BB shell)...WTF did someone just throw parts from each different BB and put it in a box.









I had a 68/73mm BB laying around so I decided to try something. I took the crankstop seals off of that one, put them on my 83mm one and put on a 2.5mm spacer on both sides of the BB. My cranks now tighten down perfectly. And it still shifts correctly so I didnt change the chainline too much. Is what I did OKAY???? Pictures below.



 
See less See more
6
#3 ·
CdaleProph6 said:
are you sure you have the right spindle length? it looks wayy too short.....remeasure your bb shell and start over?
My BB shell is 83mm I don't need to measure it again. The BB I have on there in the pictures is labeled as a 83mm BB. The Spindle cover for it is Labeled for a 68/73mm BB. However, the spindle on my bike is longer than the one that comes with a 68/73mm BB ( I have one laying around). Those crankstop seals are bigger than any picture I came across all over the internet(which is why the spindle looks short to you).
 
#4 · (Edited)
you got a wrong axel lengt in your BB!
for that you cant go to 12:00 clock with the lg1! and for that your cranks loose up!

when i used my truvativ holzfeler cranks and truvativ team BB on the judge i hafe 2x 2.5mm black spacer between the iscg and the LG1 plate!
 
#9 ·
climbingbubba said:
OT: Is there a lighter BB you can use for the holzfeller oct's. The arms are light but the BB makes it a heavy setup.
No unfortunately the only BB's you can use are the Howitzer Team or XR, they're pretty much the same price. A smarter choice would be to run a Saint set or a Gravity Light set. I am going to get one of those later on. Since I fixed these, just gona run em until they break or close to it...
 
#10 ·
Jettj45 said:
No unfortunately the only BB's you can use are the Howitzer Team or XR, they're pretty much the same price. A smarter choice would be to run a Saint set or a Gravity Light set. I am going to get one of those later on. Since I fixed these, just gona run em until they break or close to it...
Its a shame, they are such nice crank arms but the BB/AXLE seem rediculously heavy.

The only plus is that if you go from a bike with 73mm to a 83 you only have to buy a BB. which is exactly what ill be doing soon.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, I guess there is that...At least there cheap too. Only like $30 for a team. If you want anything heavy on your bike its the best place to have it lol. Low and near the CG. I really don't care about the weight, my bike weights 40.4lbs.
 
#14 ·
Khemical said:
I'd agree that after looking at the diagram you have 100mm seals on an 83mm BB. Plus you say that you have the wrong sized plastic sleeve I'd be willing to bet someone pieced together your BB with the wrong parts. Where'd you get it?
Off of pricepoint, but they wouldn't have put it together. They just ship it.
 
#16 ·
Those silver 5mm spacers are typically used on Truvativ's 73/68 x 56mm chainline cranks. Essentially I think you have the wrong BB, which is typically used on bikes like the Demo 8 and anything else with a 73mm BB shell and an (effective) 150mm rear axle width.

I would see about exchanging that bottom bracket you have or making sure you have a proper 83mm one. You should also only have ONE 2.5mm black spacer on the driveside bottom bracket cup.

http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/BB-Howitzer-e-r0.pdf
(Truvativ Part number TM-56CL-83).
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top